James R. Lites (born 1953 in

Pentwater, Michigan Pentwater is a village in Oceana County, Michigan, Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 857 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The village is located within Pentwater Township, Michigan, Pentwater Township. P ...

) is an American sports executive who currently serves as CEO and alternate governor of the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. He was formerly the president of Hicks Sports Marketing Group, and as such was president of the Stars and Texas Rangers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, both of which were holdings of

Tom Hicks Thomas Ollis Hicks Sr. (born February 7, 1946), is an American private equity investor and sports team owner living in Dallas, Texas. ''Forbes'' magazine estimated Hicks' wealth at $1 billion in 2009, but it dropped to $700 million in 2010 ...

, from 1993 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2007. Lites was briefly President and COO of the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

from March through December 2002. He was brought back as president and CEO of the Stars on November 18, 2011 when the club was sold to

Tom Gaglardi R. Thomas Gaglardi (born December 7, 1967)S ...

. He has since yielded the presidency to Brad Alberts, but is still operating head of the franchise. Lites had previously served as an executive in the front office of the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

during the 1980s.

Biography

Lites graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

with a bachelor of arts degree in 1975 and graduated cum laude from Wayne State University Law School in 1978. When he practiced law, he specialized in litigation and labor contract negotiations.

Hicks Sports Marketing Group

The

had a mediocre start to the 2007–2008 NHL season, initially going 7–7–3. On November 10, 2007, after a meltdown by the team in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

(losing 6–5 in OT after leading 4–0 with 7 minutes remaining in the game), Lites dismissed General Manager

Doug Armstrong Douglas Armstrong (born September 24, 1964) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive, currently the general manager for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is also a former general manager of the NHL's Dallas Stars ...

, and replaced him with the tandem of

Brett Hull Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadian–American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Calgary Flames, ...

and Les Jackson. The next day, team owner and chairman

reassigned Lites to head Hicks Sports Marketing Group. Lites oversees the sponsorship and marketing of the

and did so for Texas Rangers,

Liverpool Football Club Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

and

Mesquite Championship Rodeo The Mesquite Championship Rodeo is a rodeo located in Mesquite, Texas, United States, that operates from June through August. It is only a 15 minute drive from Dallas, Texas. It is a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeo. In 202 ...

until they were sold.

Controversial comments

On December 28, 2018, while serving as CEO of the Dallas Stars, Lites made detrimental and controversial comments to ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...

'' regarding two of the team's star players,

Tyler Seguin Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

and

Jamie Benn Jamie Randolph Benn (born July 18, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger and captain of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Benn was drafted by the Dallas Stars 129th overall. He pla ...

. In reference to the duo, Lites was quoted as saying "They are fucking horse-shit, I don’t know how else to put it," singling out the pair after a 2 - 0 Dallas win over the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

a day earlier. The comments were made during an invitation-only Q&A session with the media which Lites allegedly convened strictly for the purpose of publicly berating Seguin and Benn. During the same session, Lites also urged the local sports media to rip the players as well. Benn responded by telling the media "When there is a situation within the organization, I try to keep it within the organization and deal with it face to face", adding "I don't play for (Lites). I play for every player in this room, the coaching staff." On December 30, 2018, the NHLPA commented on the issue in a press release, referring to Lites' comments as "reckless and insulting" and "unprofessional" while adding that "In professional sports, all individual players and teams go through highs and lows, but this is not how professionals handle adversity." At the time, the Stars sat fourth in the NHL's Central Division with a 19-16-3 record.

References

External links

Jim Lites' Dallas Stars Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lites, Jim 1954 births American lawyers Arizona Coyotes executives Dallas Stars executives Detroit Red Wings executives Living people Major League Baseball team presidents Major League Baseball executives National Hockey League team presidents People from Oceana County, Michigan Stanley Cup champions Texas Rangers executives University of Michigan alumni Wayne State University Law School alumni American chief executives of professional sports organizations